Of War and Dragonflies
by Duskborn
Summary: A Mysterious pegasus finds his way to Ponyville saying that he is from the future! Even more, he claims to be Rainbow Dash's son, who inherited her element when she died in the future due to a Griffon-Pony war. What does this mean for the Mane 6, with little time to prepare and the threat of destuction only days away? Read and find out!
1. Prologue

A cyan colt stood up, shivering. His blue ruffled mane hung loosely over his head. The dark skyline and thick fog made it impossible to see, and it drove him mad. The weather Ponies had covered up the skyline to prevent the griffons from detecting them. The colt's fur and mane were covered in mud, as a means of camouflage.

"Mom, can we fly now?" The young colt said quietly, crawling around three-foot high grass.

"No. I want to fly too, but we have to keep going, the Elements of Harmony depend on it." His mother said softly, her voice scratchy and weak from the fighting.

They had come from Cloudsdale, a dangerous journey all the way to Canterlot. Recently his mother had received a letter of request, asking them to come to the princesses chambers in order to use the Elements to hopefully weaken the griffons.

Hours became days as they slept in the unbearably hot afternoon and traveled in the cool night. On the rare occasion that he and his mother could relax at night, she would point to the constellations telling him the myths that went along with them. A pattern of stars soaring across the sky had always interested the young foal.

"Mom, what are those?" The colt asked innocently.

The mare snorted, "I told you that thousands of times before, kid." She grinned. "If you must be told again, that's called 'Soarin's Mane', acquired from your father. He was a brilliant flyer, almost better than me." The cyan Pegasus chided, "he was a brave Pegasus, he knew what had to be done. Even if that thing cost somepony to forget their morals."

The young Pegasus had heard the story thousands of times. Not from his mother, of course, but from other admirals. He remembered the head general, Titus Wing, tell him all about it.

'Your dad was the finest pony I'd ever had the honor of working with. It was a darker night, he and the rest of the recruits had to go and shut down the major generator in Griffonspeak. That's the place just near Cloudsdale. It was becoming a large threat with the war just starting. Your father was to shut down the generator while I cleared the landscape.'

'He was so close, he and your mother had made the entrance untouched, but I had miscalculated the timing and sent Griffinspeak into chaos. The whole system had a major lockdown, encasing your parents inside. Soarin had an idea, but it would only work if there was a sacrifice. He would stand guard while your mother shut it down, then, he would hijack an exit. He told your mom that he would make it out with her, but had different intentions completely. When your mother sent the generator down, he opened the central gates. Your mother left, then she waited for him to return. She found him standing on the other side, ready to come out as he'd promised. He winked and flew into the generator's core, destroying the thing completely.'

'War comes with a price, and Soarin paid it well. He, along with the machine, disintegrated into nothingness.'

The next day he and his mother crawled into the princesses chambers. Inside he faced more ponies, five were waiting next to the Princess. He assumed that they were the elements. The royal room was in tatters, singed carpets and broken window glass filled the large once-stunning room. His mother stood par to the ponies, and they all started to feverishly speak.

All of a sudden, the barred entrance doors blasted open, revealing about a dozen griffons. The colt's whole body wracked with fear.

The princess yelled above the chaos, "Luna! Take the foal!"

The mare adjacent to the princess jumped up and gathered him, trying desperately to pull the colt from the ruckus. The cyan colt stayed stubbornly still, watching as his mother, along with the others, started to glow.

In the midst of their power, one griffon shot up, sending his mother barreling down. The trance-like spell vanished as the other five crashed against the cold ground. The colt raced forward towards his mother, watching as the griffon tore her apart. He cried out in rage and bucked the griffon with all his might. The young griffin stumbled back, amazed at the young pony's nerve. She cocked her head slightly and gave him a menacing growl.

"Run." She spat, fury and anger dancing in her eyes.

The adrenaline rush wore off, fear wracked the poor colt, and he ran.

A dark calm night enveloped the foal, it's darkness surrounding him as he walked along with Princess Luna to see the damage. He had hoped against hope that somehow, someway, his mother survived. He raced out into the destroyed room, right into his mother's lifeless body.

"No!" He screeched, tears now streaming down his face, "NOO!"


	2. The Time Capsule

Twilight Sparkle nodded, collecting bits of information to be placed on her shelves.

"Spike!" She called.

The stocky dragon raced forward, saluting her.

"Yes, Twilight?" He asked.

Twilight smiled at his gusto, "yes, I want you to put these in th-Whoaa!"

A gigantic seismic quake threw Twilight across the room, the shelves spilled their books, adding to Twilight's frustration. She groaned as she got up, aching from the toss. She walked out and immediately was thrown back by Pinkie Pie.

"Twilight! Come on, we gotta go!" Pinkie yelled.

Twilight tried to uncross her eyes, "what?"

Pinkie's voice sounded so slurred it was hard to hear what she was trying to say.

"There was a big BOOM over on the Everfree forest peak! Me and Dashie found it and it was a HUGEHUGEHUGE spaceship! You gotta check it out!" Pinkie yelled furiously.

"Let's go." Twilight said.

By time they arrived, every pony else was there, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity. The space capsule emitted white smoke as it opened. Twilight put a protective magical barrier around them, shielding them just in case.

Out came a young colt. He had cyan colored fur, alike to Rainbow Dash. His longer scruffy dark blue mane hung disheveled over his head. He was wearing aviators goggles along with a dark cotton-fur coat. His short tail flicked side to side, and Twilight could see faded streaks of color on it. Twilight edged closer.

"What's your name, and why are you here?" She asked, snarling.

The colt nodded, "my name is Firefly, and I am here to warn all of you." He said.

"What time is this again? Twilight, I'm afraid you never got the time right when you made this contraption." He said.

Twilight shuddered, "how do you know my name?" She asked, daring to come closer.

"Answer my question first."

"No"

"Please?"

"Why is it so important?" Twilight asked.

"Because it determines the fate of Equestria." He replied. His face was steely calm.

Twilight nearly passed out. The fate of Equestria? What in Celestia's name was this pony talking about?

"Yeah? Well you better size up soon, or I'm gonna send you right back where you came from!" Rainbow Dash growled, moving forward.

"Rainbow Dash, step down. Either he is a great liar, or he actually believes what he is saying." Twilight said sternly.

Rainbow Dash stepped back, still growing. The wind ruffled Twilight's mane, and the young colt's eyes bore into Rainbow Dash. He eventually spoke up.

"Twilight, I need to talk to you. Alone." He said, still looking at Rainbow Dash.

Twilight nodded. She didn't know what possessed her to have such faith in the colt, especially since they'd just met, but she did. They moved into the Everfree forest, out of earshot, but not sight of the others. Firefly let out a long breath he must've been holding in.

"Ah, Twilight. It's so nice to see you again. I'm sorry the circumstances were a bit... Odd." He smiled warmly, gesturing for Twilight to sit.

"Now, tell me what is going on here." Twilight said, forcing her voice to be steely calm.

"Okay, that sounds like a good place to start." He began. "I'm not from here, or more specifically, this time. I'm actually from five years in the future, when the last of the Pony Race became extinct." He stated, searching Twilight's eyes for any sign of belief.

"Hold it. Extinct?" Twilight asked quizzically.

"Yes, I'm afraid. We were among the last survivors. I had been on a long hike, getting supplies for us, the last survivors. That meant you, me, and some other ponies. Most of them were young children and mothers, the children protected camp, which was in a secluded part of Ponyville. If I remember correctly, it was actually Fluttershy's cottage. You had become very secluded, working on something that even I wasn't allowed to see. By then, all the other elements had gone. My mother was killed by one of the head griffon leaders, Gilda was it? Fluttershy and Rarity never returned from a trip to get some food, Applejack died in warfare, and Pinkie Pie was being held as prisoner by the Griffon forces." He said, clearly and concisely.

"Wait, what about Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

She shouldn't have even been listening, but something about this young colt, his eyes when he spoke, as if he was reliving those exact moments, made her believe him.

"Rainbow Dash was my mother." He said, eyes low. "Listen Twilight, you can't tell my mom in any possible circumstance. It might make her avoid dad and make me disappear."

Twilight didn't want to intrude in his personal life, but curiosity clawed at her like a knife.

"Who is your father?" She asked cautiously.

Firefly nodded softly, "my father was Soarin. Former member of the Wonderbolts." He replied.

Twilight nodded, "anything else I should know?" She asked.

"Yes. If today is the day I fear it is, August 23rd, then we only have four days to prepare." He said darkly.

Twilight felt like a hole opened up in her stomach, "four days?!" She asked.

"Yes." He only said.

Something fell out of his front pocket, a little slip of paper, wrapped around a card. Twilight picked it up, and when he made no sign of trying to take it back, she opened it up. It was a note, tidily wrapped around an identity card and picture. She stared at the picture, a young colt standing on top of his mother's head, his father looking at him with affection. The colt shared his mother's cyan pelt, along with his father's dark blue mane. His amber eyes looked a bit like Dash's.

The identity card had some simple information on it, his name, age, and gender, along with his rank. He had been a Leader at the time, and he had a different name. It read;

**NAME-Dragonfly**

**AGE-14**

**GENDER-Colt**

**RANK-PEGASUS LEADER**

The note was the last bit of information. It was in Twilight's own neat handwriting, neat and curly. It read;

_Dear Myself,_

_If you got this letter then that means Dragonfly has made it and possibly saved the Pony Race. On August 27th, the war began. Griffons flew from the sky, terrorizing any hope of living most of us had. I have sent Rainbow Dash's son, Dragonfly, to aid you. I fear my time is limited, so I will make things simple. The biggest vantage point in the war for the griffons was their first attack. With us being out numbered, and unprepared they easily took most of our ground. Send fast messengers to each of the major battleground states; Manehatten, Baltimare, Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and of course the princesses. But beware, alert the griffons that you are prepared and you will almost certainly lose this war. I must leave now, do well, Twilight Sparkle, the fate of Equestria rides on your decisions._

_Sincerely, _

_Twilight Sparkle_

_**Very short chapter. But guess what? You get to make an OC so that makes it all better. (not really) your OC will only make a few appearances, so don't get all detailed. Just tell me their name, cutie mark, and basic personality. Oh yeah, they'll be appearing as Dragonfly's trainer. If no one sends in anything, I'll just make a default. K, bye! (And be sure to check out my other story!)**_

_**PS. To avoid confusion I would like to say that the character, Drogonfly/Firefly, will be called Firefly throughout most of this story as this is his cover name. His actual name is Dragonfly. **_


	3. The War Begins

Rainbow Dash was ready to pounce in at any moment and send whoever that pony was all the way to Manehatten. Wait, no, she'd send him to the moon. They had chosen a very irritating spot to sit. Rainbow could see Twilight shifting uncomfortably, yet she couldn't hear them.

"_Ugh_! I'm gonna go insane! How long have they been talking?" Rainbow demanded, flapping her wings irritably.

"Uh, let's see here... Around five minutes." Applejack chided.

Rainbow performed a dramatic fall on the dirt, placing her hoof to her head as if she was sick.

"Jeesh, Rainbow, yer more dramatic than Rarity." Applejack grumbled.

Finally, Twilight and Stony raced up, "Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Rarity! Fluttershy! Pinkie! We need to warn every pony!" She exclaimed.

Rarity stepped forward, flicking her tail.

"Dear, what ever is going on?" She asked, her voice tense, yet still irritatingly polite and 'ladylike'.

"Firefly says There's going to be a supposed pony was between us and the griffons in around four days. We have to go to the main states, Baltimare, Cloudsdale, Manehatten, and Canterlot to warn them or we may have already lost." She said quickly, eyes wide.

"Hold it, how do we know he isn't lying?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"He isn't. Trust me." Twilight said almost immediately.

"Fine, I got Cloudsdale." She grumbled, stretching out her wings. With a grunt she took off, leaving the others in the dust.

"Meet back at the library!" Twilight yelled.

Rainbow Dash flew fast, the only way she liked to fly. Zipping past clouds, patrolling weather ponies, and occasionally, she would be met with a little filly learning how to fly in which case, she would slow down. Once the island of Cloudsdale came into view, Rainbow unintentionally imagined fire and ruin cover it. Dead or weak ponies fallen near the edge. She shook the thought.

She stepped down onto the puffy clouds and walked around, looking for griffons. She then called, as loud as possible, mind you.

"Everypony, meet in the cellars, I repeat, everypony, meet in the cellars!" She cried.

Since she had been a bit of a well-respected figure there, it was only natural that the ponies would follow her into the aqueducts of the city.

"What is this all about? I swear Dash, if we lose _another_ day of work because someone stole your napping cloud..." Grumbled a Pegasus.

He had gray fur, slicked back to help aero dynamics. His mane was messily thrown back from flying. He was the only soldier of Cloudsdale, not to mention being its self-proclaimed leader. His cutie mark, a cascade of rocks, was still visible through his armor.

"Don't go crazy on me, Rumble. This is big business. Some kid from the future is warning us of the end of the pony race or whatever. We don't have much time, four days, to prepare. "

Rumble was baffled, he appeared as if somepony had smashed a brick against his face.

"You are kidding, right Dash?" He asked skeptically.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, "'fraid not." She said.

He growled, getting close to her face, "listen, Dash, I think you may have hit your head one to many times. Find me this pony and I'll listen. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time."

XXX

Rainbow Dash sighed, things were never that easy. Fluttering down too the library she met the faces of all her friends.

"'Ey, Rainbow, what took ya so darned long?" Asked Applejack. "I already sent out a message to Manehatten."

Rainbow Dash sighed, "kid, you know how to fly? We got to go and prove to Cloudsdale that were telling the truth. They won't believe me" she said, looking at Applejack.

Firefly grinned, "are you kidding? I've got the best wings on this side of Cloudsdale." He batted his wings in anticipation, not paying attention to Twilight who was looking at him suspiciously.

The two pegasai took off, matching each other beat for beat as they soared throughout the air. "You're gonna be lucky if you can catch up to this!" She yelled, producing a burst of speed. She was traveling at such a high velocity, she performed a Sonic Rainboom, leaving Firefly in the dust. "Oh no you don't!" He cried. He flew forward faster, a trick that his old mentor taught him appeared in his mind. The White Boom. It was much weaker than the Sonic Rainboom, but it was going to be enough to at least catch up.

As adrenaline filled Firefly he readied to perform the boost. He didn't get to.

A huge griffon barreled into him, crashing him into a cloud. It was at these times he wished that the clouds weren't as..._ solid_ to pegasai. He looked into her eyes, then spit in her face. The griffon flinched backwards, giving him just the momentum he needed. He threw her off and watched in horror as griffons filled the sky. He flew forward, nearing Cloudsdale. He didn't arrive to soon. The pegasai screeched in shock. Luckily, Rainbow had made it there just in time. The groups of pegasai had flied in packs towards Canterlot, hoping to grab any source of weaponry possible. Only a few ponies remained.

Rumble, the old war general that Firefly had spent most of his free time with stood in front bearing spears that built into his armor so that when he flied forward, he could impale a pony, or in this case, a griffon. A minty furred colt screamed orders to scrambling weather patrolmen. His cropped bluish mane flew as he flew around. He had found a workers helmet along with the standard patrolmen gear, a vinyl top with padded chest and shoulders.

"You can't flee!" He screeched, "somepony needs to protect the city!" the griffons were closer than ever, as Firefly could see the wings and traditional native clothing, a simple tunic with a woven in turtle shell in the front, back, and shoulders.

Around seven other ponies gathered around the minty colt, all of them armed as well as possible with what little resources they possessed. Among them he could make out only one pony, a stunning colt with a handsome blue mane. Firefly had only seen him in pictures, but he was sure of who he was looking at.

"Father." He breathed.

**yeah, so that sort of wraps up this chapter. I'm kind of busy with another story so I'm alternating between the two. (Haha) anyhoof, check it out and I'll give you another chance to create an OC. Have fun!**


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